Curious Iowa: How does Cedar Rapids keep its sewer lines clear?

Most people don’t think about what they send down the drain until a sink or toilet clogs. But the Cedar Rapids sewer maintenance team is always thinking about that — and working to keep pipes clear.

Curious Iowa is a new series from The Gazette that seeks to answer your questions about the state, its culture and the people who live here. One curious Iowan wondered: “What are the huge trucks parked on some Cedar Rapids streets? And why are they dropping lines into the sewers?”

We set out to find the answer, which includes a small, tank-like vehicle that’s operated with a video game controller.

Backups can happen at any point in water’s journey to a wastewater treatment plant. Serious blockages can clog sewer lines, flooding waste into homes and streets. Those backups can be avoided with regular maintenance from dedicated city employees who don’t mind getting a little dirty.

How do sewer lines work?

When water flows down a drain, it begins a journey through 1,300 miles of sewer lines beneath Cedar Rapids to the wastewater treatment plant. These lines can be as small as 6 inches in diameter and as large as 48 inches.

Residential and industrial waste — the things you flush down the toilet or wash down the kitchen sink — runs into the sanitary sewer lines. Storm sewer lines transport whatever flows off roads. Sometimes, tree roots, litter and animals find their way into storm sewer lines — although there are no heroic genetically-mutated turtles fighting crime below Cedar Rapids.

The real heroes are the Cedar Rapids Sewer Maintenance team members who work to clear debris when lines get clogged.

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A look under Cedar Rapids

Sewer maintenance is conducted daily around the city with specialized equipment that includes camera and jetter trucks.

The camera truck provides a look into the sewer lines. A small, tank-like vehicle outfitted with a camera and LED lights is lowered into the sewer line, where it crawls through pipes. The truck receives a live feed from the camera where an operator notes any issues.

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Kerrie Brown is a Lead Televising Equipment Operator with the City of Cedar Rapids. He guides the camera through the sewer line using an old Xbox controller. In front of him, one monitor televises the camera feed. On the other, he logs what he sees.

“We’re looking for roots or grease, anything that is going to make that pipe weak and collapse and back up into someone’s houses,” Brown said. “And if we can stop that before that happens, well, then everybody wins.”

Meanwhile, a jetter truck is stationed on the other end of the line, awaiting instructions. When a clog is discovered — like a Mountain Dew bottle that was wedged in the sewer line on the day The Gazette visited — the team uses the jetter truck to send high pressure water through the sewer line. The camera remains in the pipe, but is pulled away from the clog while the jetter works.

Jetter hoses rely on different head attachments depending on what is stuck inside sewer lines. The heads can range from a claw shape to a bucket. City employees on the jetter truck end of things work by feel and rely on communication from the camera truck to clear blockages.

A camera sits outside a storm sewer before it is lowered down by city employees to monitor the sewer on their camera truck while completing a job in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on Thursday, May 18, 2023. (Savannah Blake/The Gazette)

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A camera sits in a storm sewer before being moved down the line to monitor in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on Thursday, May 18, 2023. (Savannah Blake/The Gazette)

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Sewer Maintenance Supervisor Mike Leaven said that the city has been using jetter trucks for more than 25 years.

“They originally started with little pump trucks and then they’ve started adding vacuum systems to them which, again, suck up all the debris in the storm sewers,” Leaven said.

In the case of the soda bottle, the jetter truck works on the opposite end of the sewer line from the camera truck. A long hose is snaked through the line to direct high pressure water at the blockage.

After a few tries, the jetter truck successfully blasted the bottle out of place. In some cases, the sewer team needs to cut through debris like tree roots. To clear roots, the team uses a rodder truck which is a similar concept to the jetter truck except instead of water, it uses mechanical power and blades to get the job done.

“Roots will find the smallest cracks. They come through taps, they come through the connections around the taps, and through cracks in the pipe. The drier it gets, somehow the roots know where that water is and they’ll find it,” Brown said. “We’ve come across places where this whole eight-inch line will be just blocked off with roots.”

The city uses a detailed system to monitor all storm and sanitary sewer lines. Every 10 years, a full cycle of cleaning each sewer is completed, Leaven said.

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Who does this dirty job?

Derek Nunemaker has worked as a sewer maintenance laborer for four years. Nunemaker studied mechanical engineering at Iowa State.

“I mean, I’m not doing what I went to school for but I’m enjoying it every day, kind of helping the public out and just giving back,” Nunemaker said.

As one could expect, sewer maintenance work is dirty and smelly at times.

“For the most part it’s pretty mild, but you definitely run into a lot of stuff that is unpleasant,” Nunemaker said.

Despite this, Nunemaker likes his job and the camaraderie of the sewer maintenance team.

“You gotta have a good sense of humor in this line of work. It makes the day more enjoyable, you can’t be straight as an arrow all day.”

What can you do to keep lines flowing?

Leaven said clogs can be prevented.

“Keep (leaves) off the street,” Leaven said. “Throw your pop bottles away. That’s the number one plugging up issue that we have is pop bottles. Hubcaps is another one.”

Comments: bailey.cichon@thegazette.com

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